Show Reviews

The twenty first show of the tour is also the only show at the Florida Theatre and the last show in Florida this spring. This show is played really fast overall like they can't wait to get out of there. Looking ahead, they do get a couple days off after this, so maybe that was the motivation? This is a much better recording than the last few shows I've heard, but it also shows more flaws to me. Mike had a sloppy night.

Good Golgi to open with. Rift still has some timing problems and was not that tight. Mike was off during Guelah. Maze was good except for the end part. Bouncing is pretty standard. Ice was ok. Sparkle also had a little timing problem, but not too bad. Punch is getting much better, but Mike is still weak. Funny moment of banter before Page sings a nice Lawn Boy. Antelope has a few rough spots, but a great jam. Again, this show has lots of energy, but is just a little off in each song.

Good solid Curtain to open second set. Stash is also very nice. Poor Heart has the extra solo section in it again before the last verse. Fish blows the middle of Sample, but it's new. Then the Balls come out, and again, they wait to give this one a proper ending. Ya Mar is really funny because Trey can't wait to say Leo, so he says it early and then resorts to calling everyone names like Boss and Hoss again like he did the other night. Also Trey emphasizes "Love you dead" instead of "lovely day". They also include a false ending so Mike can speak "drive through" jibberish. There is a sound check out there that explains that phrase. Mike's is pretty good and rocking. Hydrogen is sloppy as usual. Weekapaug was a good jam. Then Fish comes out, with a cold, for a nice easy Terrapin with band introductions and Pete lyrics. Fee was played by request after choosing between it and Tela. Llama was on fire again, almost too fast to keep up! It was a great way to close up the show.

Monkey cuts in on the recording. It's been a while for this one and it's pretty good. Page plays piano first then organ for the Let It Be breakdown. Grace was ok even though Fish is sick. Rocky Top was also on fire.

Strange, I really like this show, but I feel it lacks something because the board recording is so good and clear, I can hear all the bad notes. The energy was off the charts! This show is about where it needs to be, three and a half stars. Four stars for the energy, but three for the playing. (Mostly Mike)

The first set is pretty standard with the exception of a smokin' Antelope. There is a Brazil tease in It's Ice from Page. The second set is a lot of fun and very loose, especially Poor Heart and Ya Mar. Pretty great Weekapaug, and some alternate Pete Schall lyrics in Terrapin. I wasn't too psyched by the end of the show, but overall, I'd put it in the high 3 range...so to be generous, I'll give it 4 stars.

Set 2: This set is STUPENDOUS, they are so locked in and in the Groove, the song selection is one thing, but the playing is just on another level, I couldn't ask for more, I wish I could have been there. 1993 Phish really tickles my fancy(: The second set is opened with a near flawless execution of The Curtain, Gordo throwing out fire bass lines during the main theme of the song. As soon as the "As he saw his life run away from him" segment and on begins, Page hops in with a noticeably different lick. Trey spends this whole song getting into it strongly with his Vocals, yelling for singing parts, quietly muttering his guitar licks, its great. This song I just turn page up in my head with this version in particular, it's a must listen. Stash kicks in right after that completes with another upbeat tempo, you can hear the rush in the band, playing pretty quickly, but that wont slow down this 11+ minute Stash. This was before the whole audience clapped at that one part, and after 3 times of Fishman playing the claps on a tom, they stop and give the audience a shot and it clearly doesn't work Throughout the whole main riff of stash Trey plays it palm muted, and it gives it a dark feel to it, making it seem like a dark jazz epic. as soon as the Jam starts from then on its your average 1993 Stash, raging unnecessarily hard with some distinct licks here and there, but your average type 1 jam. Until about 8:20 seconds in Trey keeps playing this odd gloomy sounding riff and the jam slowly starts to drift away from the stash theme for the next almost 2 mintutes and build it into the peak of the song, going back into the main theme and ending it. This section of the show is not really up there in my books, just because Poor Heart is such a fun song, but I'm not the biggest fan of Sample, Big Ball Jam is neat, but you all know how it goes. When BBJ ends and they pick up right into the ripper that is Ya Mar, the show changes direction again, into a Beach Party dancing fiasco. How can you not just want to get up and dance around to Ya Mar, Mikes soothing voice and such a happy progression. Followed by Mikes Groove. You know I love Mikes Groove with the I Am Hydrogen in the middle, I feel like it fits way too perfectly in between those two songs. I mean if its a Mikes sandwich like "At The Roxy" or whatever show has that Simple Icculus sandwich, I'll take it, but I'd be happy with the original 3 (: The last thing I want to do is ramble on about how solid this Mikes Groove is so you should just listen to it. HYHU is a good tune. Page makes it seem so epic, With the constant organ playing, how can a song not be epic? Him and Fish start the song out nicely. Fishman announces after a pause at the beginning of HYHU that he is going to sing a "Very Nasally" version of a great Syd Barret song, Terrapin, which is fun, Cause Fishman singing songs makes me chuckle, you can just picture how it would go. Fee was fee, not much too it, other then the fact it went into one of my favorite Phish songs, which I got the privilege to see them open with at Mansfield this year, 6/7/11, Llama, It is super fast with Trey constantly pushing the beat, making noises. I wish Llamas weren't only like 5 minutes long usually, I would kill for Llama to be regularly a 10+minute jam with a bunch of Hose jamming, Imagine if Llama was the Modern Day "Rock And Roll" or something?! Now time for this Encore. Sleeping Monkey, Amazing Grace, Rocky Top. Sleeping Monkey first of all is a great song, I think it is entirely underplayed and makes the perfect encore, along with Contact. Unfortunately this version is only 4 minutes long, and followed by Amazing Grace ): Rocky Top just makes me love Mike, nuff said.

Set 1: Before Golgi starts and Trey counts it off, you can hear him just beat-boxing, thought that was funny. But the unexpectedly-quickly played Golgi sets a solid pace for this set, Which is also flawlessly played with Page casually tearing it up, Piano tickles everywhere. As soon as the Golgi ends, the band quickly picks up on "Rift", an again quick tempo. 3:04 seconds into it, Pages keyboard jam starts, and its your average Rift jam, nothing too out of the usual. Trey, alone, starts Guelah Papyrus, with an unusual lick at the beginning before the lyrics come in. I always love a good guelah, I feel like they get so into it, with the step dance at the end and a reggae-ish theme to it. A perfectly executed Asse Festival interlude in the middle, tight ending. Audience clapping for a short period of time with the intro of Maze with Fishmans Rim Clicks. Space harmonics from trey before actual Maze theme kicks in. Now they are starting to Rage, After the first "You'll Never Get Out Of This Maze" segment trey has a fire solo, leading right into a build up solo from Page on the organ, very fast playing. Leading back into the jam when they Peak the song, a little short for my liking, but the playing makes up for it 10-fold. Trey shredding every right note makes a Maze jam what it should be. At about the 7 minute point the band is incredibly locked in, Phish is sending off crazy energy I bet you could have felt in 100% of that building that night. After the Maze ends Trey takes a quick second to say Thank You to the audience then Fish quickly starts up Bouncing, I personally love bouncing, you can't go wrong with such a happy song with a positive beat and lyrical compilation, not really a Jam within any bouncing. But it definitely adds light to the set. After the Short-Lived bouncing, Trey quickly starts up one of my personal favorites; IT'S ICE! Nothing way out of the ordinary with this one, very high energy, but what else would you expect with 1993 Phish? After this the band decides to play Sparkle, not really up there on my list of Phish songs, but you gotta respect it. Only a 3 and a half minute song so what damage does it do adding to a set, none, similar to adding a MMGAMOIO. Right before the "Laugh and Laugh and Fall Apart" section Page adds nice little piano lick. Now time for a nice relaxing PYITE, with a slopped intro, but hey, it's one of the early PYITE's so don't get all aggravated. Page pushing the tempo the whole songs is what makes it a gnarly song. I feel like I haven't showed Gordo enough love in this review, that's just because is pretty quiet unfortunately, I personally like gordo playing loudly, just enough so that what he plays is blatantly obvious. When the PYITE is over, Trey takes a second to note how they have played 5 gigs in Florida, and that was the first one there, so he thanks the audience for welcoming them, and what better way to follow up a warm welcoming then with a Lawn Boy. Page's voice in this song really gives me goosebumps. After several times of saying Old Factory Hues, with no high note, the band softly ends the song and goes into what you most likely could have predicted, but not complained about to end the set, Antelope! A spaced out intro with several unusual licks by everyone, into the high energy intro to the Jam, this is my favorite Antelope from this year I think personally, so much energy and they are locked in 100% of the way, equaling bringing it up for a face melting, mind raging end to the first set. All you have to do is Run Like An Antelope, out of control (:

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